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Wheat import probe body denies summoning any official, politician

News Desk
Tuesday, May 07, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry committee, probing the alleged excessive import of wheat, clarified on Monday that no government official or politician was summoned for investigation into the matter, Geo News reported.

A notification stated that the committee, headed by the Cabinet Division secretary, held its first meeting during which it worked on the documents and the statistics.It denied the reports of any meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the wheat import matter.

The notification further said the inquiry committee’s report was in the process of completion, however, the preliminary report had not yet been presented to anyone.The development comes after reports emerged that the inquiry committee might summon former caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, ex-finance minister Shamshad Akhtar, and then-chief minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi.

A day earlier, Kakar denied any wrongdoing in the import of wheat, saying he was ready to join the investigation into the import of the staple crop.“I will appear before the wheat [inquiry] committee if it summons me,” the ex-premier said.

The inquiry committee, being headed by Cabinet Division Secretary Kamran Afzal, was constituted by PM Shehbaz last week. It had been tasked with fixing responsibilities for the import of wheat beyond demand and permission to open LCs after the month of February.

During the month of March, the private sector was allowed to import 6.91 million metric tonnes of wheat worth Rs57.192 billion. However, Kakar said no new law was introduced to import wheat during his tenure and his government only “encouraged the private sector” to import the staple crop. The federal government has been caught in a fix as the Balochistan and Punjab governments are unable to purchase wheat from farmers due to a surplus in stock which, so far, is being attributed to excessive import of the crop. The premier was told that the additional wheat import caused a loss of more than Rs300 billion to the national exchequer.

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